The third in the Starfarers series is yet another step up from the first two, though I remain mystified by the Le Guin blurb "With this third novel, Starfarers clearly becomes the most important series in science fiction..." -- perhaps there was a qualifier following. At least we meet an alien. The alien is biologically interesting though in conversation it comes across about as human as most SF aliens do. The start and end of the book are the most interesting as they focus on the alien and Starfarer's quest to meet the Galactic Civilization. The middle is a mix of things still going haywire with Arachne (the ship's version of the internet) and way too much time on the mechanics of underwater group sex and the travails of Stephen Thomas, the hot guy that no man or woman can resist.

Recommended, despite the sagging middle. ( )

Really well executed social, some lovely ideas, and overall solid writing. ( )

Third in a series...
In this installment, disappointed by the two human representatives of interstellar 'Civilization,' the crew of the 'Starfarer' go to meet a more alien species, the squidmoths. Unfortunately (?), the squidmoth they dub Nemo is about to enter the last phase of its life, where it will physically change, reproduce, and then die. They have little time to get to know this species.
Meanwhile, one of the main characters is going through his own physical change, becoming an aquatic 'diver,' due to the destruction of the genetics lab. This is not easy on his relationships...
And Starfarer itself may be in trouble... the ecological system seems to be going haywire, and politics still plague every decision...

Not bad, but I've become a little annoyed by the fact that although Starfarer is a community of at least several hundred people, it seems that the main dozen or so characters ONLY interact with each other. We hardly ever see random other people doing anything, and in such a small community, I'd think everyone would be getting to know one another pretty fast...

Oh well, on to the last volume in this series... ( )